Railway car



..i till: u. i rt 1 QW NW 0 G. T. JOHNSON RAILWAY CAR Filed NOV. 27. 1928 zsheets-sheet l gmxmto'o dam;

July 26, 1932.

1 Illa flilrllv llll 1$ MMR July 26, 1932.

G. T. JCHNSON RAILWAY CAR Filed Nov. 27, 1928 1 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 26, 1932 j UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE, f

GEORGE '1. JOHNSON, 0F COLUMBUS, oHIo, ASSIGNOR T0 was 'IBUCKEYE srnnr. cas'r- .mes COMPANY, or communes, {oHro' RAILWAY GAR Application filed November'27,'1928. ScrialNo. 322,284..

This invention relatesto improvements in railway cars, and especially to freight cars of the gondola type. a

It has heretofore been proposed tov provide such cars with hinged end doors that are pivotally connected at their lower ends to the fioor of the car in such manner that they may be swung inwardly and downwardly on the floor to facilitate loading; to permit lengthy articles to project beyond the ends of the car; and, where necessary, to allow extremely lengthy articles to extend from one car into an adjacent similar car. In cars of this type, it has been the practice to provide each ofthe end sills with an upstanding apron against which the lower edge portion of the door abuts.- Such apron being sub-- jected to rough usage, frequently becomes battered down, and weakened, and conse: quently, the end door, when. sub ected to strong forces, has a tendency to bulge theapron outwardly, and this isa disadvantage that has been tolerated over a. considerable period of time.

In such cars, the car end is constructed almost entirely of metal sheets, rolled shapes and pressings held together by rivets, and

the metal corner posts rise from the car under-framing and are riveted thereto. In a closed end car, the ends are solid walls which not only tie the car sides together against bulging, but'st-iffen it as a whole. On the other hand, open end cars of the type with which we are dealing, must depend on'the intermediate side stake or post construction,

and-the master stakes, called' corner posts,

at the ends, to resist the bulging tendency ofthese parts together by rivets or the like with theresult that strains placed on the parts have a tendency to shear the rivets, loosen the parts, orpdaniage the same to such-an extent that such parts become defective, and;

eventually practically useless for their intended purposes.

The primary object of the present inven' tion is to improve the end structure of freightcarsof this type, with a View of eliminating the above mentioned, and other defects which are familiar to thoseskilled in the art.

Another object is sisting of an integral'casting which includes the. coupler striker, the end sill, the door abutment apron, the corner posts,the corner post caps, the door latch brackets, the push pole pockets or cavities, some of'these por tions having cored holes to facilitate apply ing fixtures and making connections; I n 7 p In general, such anintegral construction allows metal to beremoved from where it is not useful, and placedat points where need ed. It presents smooth rounded surfaces and fewer joints, reduces corrosion and accidents to a minimum, and eliminates points of stress concentration. It saves the work incident to collecting a multiplicity of parts, and it reduces the number of rivets required. In-

tegral car ends, in accordancewith myin- VGIltlOIl, w1ll dlspensewith a large number of separate pieces,- and effect a very s'ubstan-j tial reduction in weight. a WVith the foregoing objects outlined and with other objects in view which will appean to furnish a car end 0on as the description proceeds, -my invention consists in the novel features hereinafter described in detail, illustrated in the accoms panying drawings, and more particularly pointedout in the appended claims.

Referring to thedrawings, Fig. l is a fragmentary top plan view of} my improvedcar end with certain additional parts attached-thereto.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of thesame. Fig. 3 isan end elevation. In general, my improved car end consists of a substantially U-shaped metal casting made up of the cross bar ljan'd the cornerv posts'2. Each corner post is substantiallyof angle shape in'horizontal cross section, and includes vertically disposed wings 3- and 4, which merge at their upper end into an.

with the wing 4 by a triangular rib 7 that is preferably vertically disposed.

i The integral corner post cap providessubstantial advantages over the intricate details in built-up constructions, as to the number of parts and ease of riveting. Its greater thickness resists corrosion, fewer rivets are exposed, and greater stability is provided.

Apertures 8 in the extension Gserve to re- 7 ceive rivets that are employed to connect the cap to a metal bar 9, used at of the side of the car. f

The wing 4 is also apertured at 960 to accommodate rivets employed in connecting the side plates ofthe car body to the corner posts, and each wing is also preferably provided with an apertured ear 10 through which 'a rivet may be passed for connecting the wing 4, not only to the side plate, but also to the reinforcing bar 9. This ear is positioned in close proximity tothe cap, so as to form a support for one end of the bar 9.

Each corner post is provided with a door latch bracket 11, which is integral with the wing 3 and consists of an upwardly extend-'- ing arm 12 that is well ribbed, as shown at 13, for greater strength and permanency.

An enlargement 14 of each wing 4, is pro vided with holes 15 to receive the rivets or the like, used in connecting my improved car end casting to the underfr-aming of the car. An outwardly extending ear 16 at the lower end portion. of each wing 4, forms the extremity of the cross sill 17 which is"prefer-.

ably of channel shape throughout the greater portion of its length, the channel being formed with vertical webs18, a horizontal floor 19, and flanges 20 which conform to the irregular lower edges of the webs 18.

Each flange, 20 mergesat its outer extremity of the webs 18, is shaped'to provide push pole pockets 23. The provision of these pockets in thismanner is an example of how readily and well, such details can be taken care of in an integral structure, without adding weight.

Ithas been the practice" in the past to mount the coupler striker on the draft sills of the underframing of the car, as'the striker is made of one ormore pieces of metal connected to the-draft sills: by rivets or the like, obviously such-a structure is a source of weakness. To eliminate this disadvan tage, I form the coupler striker as a portion;

the upper edge ofmy integral end casting, and to this purpose, the floor 19 is extended outwardly at its medial portion, asishown at 24, and the metal of this extension merges into a frame 25, having sides 26, each of which is reinforced by a laterally extending head 27 that merges into a horizontally disposed "rib- 28 that connects the side with one of the webs 18. The carrier bar 29 of the striker is rein:

forced by a horizontally extending flange 30,

and a vertical rib 31, and the top bar of the frame is also strengthened by a somewhat similar flange 32, and a plurality of vertical webs 33. It is evident that the construction is such that blows imparted to the striker-will v be transmitted equally to the web's 18,'floor 19, and finally distributed over the entire casting. I

Another improvement provided by my casting-resides in the abutment84 for the end door. Prior to the present invention,

such anabutment was usually 'fo-rmed'by the I vertical wing of an angular shaped pressed metal plate, riveted to the end-sill. Owing to; the rough usageto which cars of this type are subjected, the edge of such apron'has come this difliculty, I make such apron an integral part of my casting,and I'construc t the same in such away-that it-will hold its: originalshape indefinitely, and will prevent injury to the operators, even should an operator fall upon the apron. In my structure, I extend upwardly from the inner edge of the fioor'19', a web'35 which merges atits lower end into the metal of the floor, andat its ends,' is integrated with the win-gs "3 'of- 'the cornerposts. At this point, I desire to callattention to a great advantage of this typeof construction which may be seen 'by'cornparing the detail at the lower portion of the corner posts with that'of usual construction.

The integral construction is much more rug-' ged and rigid, because the cross SQCtlOll-Etl areas of a few rivets-are not depended upon to hold the posts upright, buta deep sec- 1 tion X-X, (see Fig, 2), of cast construction, is used instead. Moreover, an integralconnection of this characteris not opento theobjection of working loose under repeated loading; u v The door abutment34 is thicker than the abutmentsmade heretofore, and it. is beaded atthe wearing edge, as shown atv3 '6, for

strength. and accident prevention, and it will be noted that the beadfextends outwardly atits central-portion to a maximum'deg'r'ee, and

is gradually tapered from this point towards I its ends, as best shown in Fig.- 1, and the V bead, as well as theweb 35, is reinforced by ribs 37- and 38, that are integral 'with 'thef bead, web :35 andfloor 119. The "rib 37 is ofgreater length than the ribs 38, and it extends outwardly to the striker 24 to strengthen the latter.

It is apparent that the dropping of heavy articles on the bead 36 or the shifting of the load on the same, will not batter the door abutment down, as is the case with rolled metal abutments which have been used in the past. My apron being an integral part of the casting, can extend entirely across the car, and it is so braced and so proportioned that it is much stronger and more durable than the separate metal pressing heretofore employed.

From the foregoing, it is believed that the construction and advantages of the invention will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, and it is evident that changes may be made in the details presented, without departing from the scope of the invention as claimed.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A car end formed of a substantially U-shaped integral metal casting consisting of a cross bar and corner posts, said posts forming continuations of the cross bar.

2. A car end formed of a substantially U-shaped metal casting, providing a cross bar and corner posts, each post being angular shaped in cross section and forming an integral continuation of said cross bar.

3. A car end formed of a substantially U-shaped metal casting, including a cross bar and corner posts, each post being of substantially angular shape in horizontal section, and formed of wings, and a cap at the upper end of each post, integral with said wings.

4. A one-piece metallic car end including a cross bar and corner posts, the cross bar being of substantially channel shape, and the corner posts being substantially angular in cross section to provide wings, one wing of each post merging into the channel shaped portion of the cross bar.

5. A one-piece metallic car end including a cross bar and corner posts, each post being of substantially angular shape in horizontal cross section, to provide wings, a post cap a integral with the wings of each post and provided with a lateral extension, and a rib uniting said extension with one of said wings.

6. A one-piece metallic car end consisting of a cross bar and corner posts integral therewith, the cross bar having a substantially vertical web, and each corner post having an inwardly extending transverse wing, said wings merging into the ends of the web.

' 7. A one-piece metallic car end including a cross bar and corner posts, each post having anintegral latch bracket braced by a web that is integral with the bracket and the corner post on which the bracket is mounted.

8. A one-piece metallic car end including a cross bar and corner posts, the cross bar door abutment integral with the floor portion having a verti cal web positioned above the lower ends'of' the corner posts, each corner post having a transversely extending wing, said wings'merging into the ends of the wee. 9. A one-piecemetallic car end, including across bar and corner posts, eaohcorner post being of substantially angular .shapein horizontalcross section, and having a longitudina'lly extending wing and a transversely extending wing, said'c'ross bar having upper andlower webs, the ends of the upper web merging into the longitudinal win s; 10. A one-piece metallic car end including" a cross bar and cornerposts, each post being substantially angular in shape in horizontal section, and formed of wings,a cap integral with the upper ends of the wings and joining thelatter, one of said Wings having anapertured ear spaced from the cap to provide, a recess to receive the flange of an edge 'bar- 11. A one-piece metallic car end including a cross bariand corner. posts, each post. hav ing a longitudinally extending wing, the lower end portion of the wing being extended both forwardly and rearwardly, said cross bar having a channel shaped portion merging into the rear extension of the wings. I v.

12. A one-piece metallic car end, including a cross bar and corner posts, and push pole pockets positioned at thelines of intersection between the'cross bar and corner posts.

13. A one-piece metallic car end including a cross bar and corner posts, said cross-bar having substantialychannel shaped portions merging into the corner posts, and push pole pockets positioned in the end portions of said substantially-channel shaped parts;

14.. A one-piece metallic car end including Spendingfrom the floor portion, a flange reinforcing the lower edge portion of the web,

a cross bar having a floor-portion, a web-deand a'push pole pocketv positioned. in said web.

15.*A car end including a floor portion,'a

and rising from the latter, and a beading integral with the upper edge portion of. said" abutment.

16. In a car end, a metallic floor portion, an upstanding metallic 'web integral with the .floor portion, a beading integral with the "upper edge ofthe abutment, and ribs reinforcing the abutment and extending from the latter to said floor portion. p

' 17. In a car end, a one-piece cross bar ineluding a-floor, an upstanding door abutment,

abeading extending along the upper edge portion of the abutment, and tapering gradually from its center portion toward its ends, and reinforcin ribs integral with the floor, abutment, and eading. q v v 18. In a car end, a one-piece metallic cross bar including a floor, a coupler striker frame depending from thecentral portion of therear edge of the floor, a pair of webs dependdistributing strains.

ing from the floor at opposite sides of the striker frame and merging into the sides of the latter, and a door abutment apron projecting'upwardly from the front edge :of the floor. V

19. A one-piece metallic car end including a cross bar formed of afloor portion, a door abutment porti0n,'a striker frame and webs, the Webs being located at opposite sides of the striker frame and having their inner ends merging into the latter, the upper ends of the Webs and frame merging into the floor, and the door abutment extending upwardly from the floor and merging into the latter, and integral ribs joiningsaid portions for 20. A one-cpiece metallic car.end, including a cross bar and corner posts, anda coupler striker arranged at the central portion of the V crossbar and forming an integral part of the latter.

- 21. A one-piece metallic-carend including a cross bar and corner posts, the cross bar comprising a floor, a coupler striker depending from the central portion of the edge of the floor, Webs arranged at opposite .sides,

of the striker, depending from thefloorand merging at' their inner ends into the sides of vthe striker, reinforcing flanges extending along the lower edgesof the WG'lJSffiJld extensions from said fiangesoining the same to the lower extremities of the corner posts.

22. A one-piece metallic car endincluding a cross bar and corner posts, each corner 7 7 post having Wings, said cross bar including a floor, a coupler striker depending from the floor, Webs at opposite sides of the striker, depending from the floor, and merging into said striker, the outer ends of the Web merging into the corner posts, a door abutment Web forming part of the cross bar and ex= tending from one corner post to the other, said door abutment Web having its ends merging'into certain Wings of the corner posts.

23. In a railway car, a onepiececasting comprising an end sill and spaced apart corner posts.

24. Ina railway car, a one piece :casting comprising an end sill and spaced apart corner posts, said end sill formed With a recess for reception of a panel, said posts each formed with a, recess for reception of said panel and another recess for reception of a side panel.

25. A one-piece metal car endcastinglcomprising a corner post and a horizontal arm, and a corner post cap arranged on said'corner post.

In testimony whereof, have signedithis specification.

GEORGET. JOHNSON. 

